Kurt awoke the next morning with a slight jump, it seemed a loud crack of thunder had shaken him awake. Opening his eyes, he noticed how dark his room was. The clock on the night stand said that is was ten in the morning. It was storming pretty bad and the clouds had to be awfully heavy for it to be so dark. All of a sudden his heart stopped and he immediately forgot about the weather and he was now very aware that he and Blaine were cuddling. Cuddling. Before completely freaking out, he took in what was happening. Blaine's head was against Kurt's chest and Kurt's arm was draped over the older boy. Their legs seemed to have found a way to snake around each other. "Oh.." He breathed. His heart started fluttering and his face flushed, turning a deep crimson. He gazed at Blaine's sleeping face. Even with the black eye, he was beautiful. Light stubble touched his face, his forehead had a little wrinkle in it. He looked sad, and so delicate. Figuring he should move before he got caught staring at his absolutely flawless best friend, he attempted to slide out of bed. But when he did Blaine snuggled a little closer, griping Kurt's shirt, before waking up himself. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled slightly.

"Hey," His voice was deep, sleepy.

"Hi," Kurt said awkwardly.

Blaine realized what was happening and he jumped away from Kurt. "Oh, I'm s-sorry." His face blushing a deep cherry.

Kurt quickly got up out of the bed, shaking his head. "It's okay." They stood on opposite sides of the bed, looking at each other. "Uh, um, d-do you want something to eat?"

Blaine took a deep breath and shook his head. "Nah, I'm not hungry."

Kurt snorted slightly. "Call the news paper. Blaine Anderson turned down food." This was Kurt's awkward attempt to make him laugh.

Blaine smiled slightly. "Ha. Ha." The smiled faded and his eyes moved to his feet.

Kurt gazed at the broken boy in front of him and sighed. He walked over to the other side of the bed, he placed his hands on Blaine's shoulders. "Hey, it's going to be okay. Okay?"

Blaine's hazel eyes shifted up to meet the blue ones in front of him. "Thanks, Kurt." Blaine half smiled, putting his hand on Kurt's.

They stayed there for half of a moment before they felt the caramel.

Kurt backed away quickly, clearing his throat. "S-so, um, I'm going down stairs for a minute. Why don't you get ready? Then I will, and we can just head back to Dalton."

Blaine's forehead wrinkled. "Oh, no, we don't have to leave yet. I'd hate to be the reason for you to miss out on your family being here."

Kurt shook his head. "Nonsense. I'm ready to leave. I love my family, but yesterday was enough until next Thanksgiving."

Blaine chuckled, nodding. "Alright then." He walked over to his bag, pulling some clothes out.

Kurt left the room, going down stairs.

Blaine sighed, looking in the mirror of Kurt's bathroom. He started at his puffy eye, it was black and purple. Even more swollen than last night. He felt a sting behind his eyes that he tried to fight. He didn't want to cry right now. He turned on the faucet, splashing some cold water on his face. He winced and made a 'Tss' sound when the water his the scratch on his face, he turned his face to take a look at his cheek. There was a pretty decent gash, from his father's class ring.

...

Blaine gasped, holding his eye. He could not believe that his dad just punched him. In the eye. His own father. One of the only people that was suppose to love him. Just hurt him, intentionally. "What- why did you.." He stuttered, feeling hot tears run down his face.

"That is why I can't do this Blaine, look at you. Crying. Be a man."

Blaine was furious, hurt, but furious. He took a step forward. ''Courage', he thought to himself. "Of course I'm crying! My own FATHER just punched me! You-You are such a horrible person. Does it make you feel better to make me hurt?" His voice started to raise. "Huh? Does it make you feel better about me to hit me? If so, go ahead, hit me. Do you think it'll make me straight? Because it won't. Nothing will. Why can't you just accept it?" His tone was borderline hysterical. "I'm gay, dad." There was a break in his voice.

"How dare you talk that way to me, in my house." His dad raised his hand and before Blaine could blink he felt his dad's class ring connect with his face. He knew it was causing a mark. He lost his footing at the force of his dad's hand, and stumbled to the ground.

Blaine couldn't stop more tears from falling. He could hear his heart breaking again, like he had the times before. He held his face in his hand. He whimpered. "All I ever wanted was for you to be proud of me, dad." He was broken, practically pleading. He had no more fight left in him.

"I'm done with this. I want you out of my house before I get back." His dad walked away, grabbing his coat and his keys before walking out the door. Mumbling something about how he couldn't believe he could raise such a 'fag' as he slammed the door.

Blaine didn't hold back any of his hysterical cries, as he banged his head back against the wall. He just didn't understand. What did he do? More importantly, what was he going to do? He had no way to leave. Wes had dropped him and went to his own home. He couldn't call him and tell him he was right. Wes had warned him the whole way that this was a bad idea but Blaine was sure this time would be different. He wanted it to be, at least.

He reached into his pocket and called the first person he thought of.

...

That's all he dreamed about that night. Blaine shook his head, he figured it would probably scar. Great, just one more reminder of the failure I am.

He sighed once more and got dressed.

...

Meanwhile

Kurt found Carole in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee.

"Is that almost done? I could definitely use some." Kurt said, walking up to Carole, kissing her on the cheek.

"Good morning, sweetie. How did you sleep."

"Eh, so-so." He sighed, pulling a cup out of the cabinet.

"And, Blaine?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "How did you-?"

"When I checked on you this morning you two were all cuddled, sleeping."

Kurt's face felt a sudden warmth and it turned a deep shade of red. "O-oh. Well, I-"

She giggled. "Don't freak, it's fine."

He chuckled, smiling slightly.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why exactly is Blaine here?" She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms loosely. "Are you two more than friends?" Carole winked at her stepson.

Blushing even more, Kurt shook his head. "I'm pretty positive he doesn't feel anything more than friendship." He sighed. "So, no-no, we're just friends, absolutely nothing more." The truth of that was unfortunate for Kurt because he was pretty sure he was in love with Blaine. He wasn't convinced that Blaine felt the same. He was so hard to read.

...

Blaine had finished getting ready and was on his way down the stairs, he stopped when he heard Kurt talking to someone. He heard Kurt sigh. "So, no-no, we're just friends, absolutely nothing more." His tone sounded stern, final. Blaine's insides kind of sank. "Oh.." He whispered to himself. It more or less completely shattered his heart now that he knew he didn't even have a chance. He sighed, putting on a small fake smile before walking into the kitchen.

"Hey," He said quietly.

Carole smiled widely. "Blaine!" Her smile quickly faded into a look of worry as soon as she saw his face. "Oh my god. Honey, what happened to you?" She rushed to him, placing her arms around him, hugging him gently.

"It's nothing, really. I'm fine." He said as he hugged her back. Blaine had only met Carole a time or two. But from the moment he did, it was like she was his mother. She was the warmest person he had ever met. He felt silly to admit it, but he loved her right away.

"No, no, that is not nothing." She shook her head. "Come here." She tugged his arm gently, pulling him to a chair at the table. "I'm going to get you an ice pack. Does it hurt honey? Do you need an Advil? And that cut. Oh, I'll go get some antibiotic cream and a bandage. Make Kurt make you something to eat or drink and I'll be right back." She spoke quickly before rushing out of the room.

All Blaine and Kurt could do was chuckle.

"Wow," Blaine said.

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, she's something."

"She's great. I adore her."

"Me, too." Kurt smiled at the older boy. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

Blaine pursed his lips together, nodding. "Yeah, I guess."

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" He took a step towards Blaine, gazing down at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Blaine held Kurt's eyes for a moment, smiling. Just friends. Rang in his head and his smile fell. He looked down at the table.

Kurt sighed. He wanted to know what Blaine was thinking. He really just wanted to hold him and make everything better. "Well, I-I'm going to go get ready and we can go."

Blaine just nodded before letting his forehead come in contact with the table after Kurt left. "Ow." He mumbled quietly, sitting back up and placing his hand on his eye.

At that moment Carole came rushing in with an ice pack and a first aid kit. "Here, sweetie." She handed him the ice pack and he took it, placing it gently over his eye.

She sat in the chair next to him and opened up the kit, taking out peroxide and a cotton ball.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hummel. But, I'm fine...you really don't have to-"

"Nonsense. This needs to have something on it, you don't want it infected. Hush now and let me take care of you. And please, call me Carole." She smiled as she poured some peroxide into the cap, dipping the cotton ball in it. Her smile was so warm Blaine couldn't help but let his own smile creep across his face.

"Th-thanks, Carole." Still smiling, he moved in his chair, turning his head for Carole to have better access to his cheek.

She gently touched the soaked cotton ball to his cheek, he winced. "I'm sorry, honey." She dabbed it lightly. "This cut is awful. What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

Blaine was quiet for a moment. He sighed, contemplating lying to her. But he gave in, not being able to resist her motherly charm. "My-my dad." He said quietly.

She stopped dabbing, her eyes widening. "Wh-what?" She breathed.

He nodded before shrugging. "Yeah, he-he doesn't approve of me...being gay. And well, the way he chooses to express that leads to us yelling, which leads to this."

"What? This has happened before?" She gaped at him, setting the cotton ball on the table.

He nodded and she placed a hand on his knee. "This time was the worst, though." He felt his eyes burn.

"Oh, sweetie." She embraced him in a tight hug, tears filling her eyes. He didn't hesitate to hug her back. "I am so sorry. Did you tell anyone?" She asked, leaning back. "Did you tell the police? Or your mother?"

Blaine shook his head. "N-no. There's no use. He's a lawyer. With all of the wrong, sleazy friends in the wrong places. And my mom has been non existent since I was little. It's not a big deal, really. I will never give him another chance. I'm done."

Carole frowned, feeling terrible for the boy in front of her. She dabbed another cotton ball soaked with peroxide on his face, gently. "That's good. You don't deserve to be treated like that. I can't believe your own father...it's absolutely ridiculous. Horrible." She shook her head.

Blaine just nodded, sighing.

...

When Kurt was finished getting ready he went downstairs to find Blaine and Carole sitting at the table, talking. He noticed Blaine was eating and smiled.
"I see she got you to eat." He sat next to Carole.

Blaine nodded. "Mmhm. She's very persuasive."

"He told me he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning." She shook her head, turning to Kurt and slapping him on the shoulder. "Why didn't you feed him?"

Kurt gave her a look and then looked at Blaine. "Excuse me, but I did offer."

Blaine chuckled at the two. "He did, offer, Carole. I wasn't all that hungry."

She just smiled.

"Whenever you're ready, we can go." Kurt said, looking at Blaine.

The older boy nodded, setting the crust off of the bite he had just taken down. "I'm ready." He took a sip of his glass of milk and stood up.

Carole and Kurt also stood, walking into the living room. Blaine followed, picking up his bag. Carole gave Kurt a tight hug. "Love you, sweetie."

"You too, Carole. Tell dad I love him when he wakes up."

"I will, and I will see you...next weekend?"

Kurt smiled, nodding. "Sure thing."

She smiled. "Good, you know how much your dad loves having you here." She turned to Blaine, hugging him tightly. "It was so good to see you Blaine. Take care of yourself. And I want you to know you are always, always welcome in this home. Absolutely anytime."

Blaine couldn't help but smile and squeeze her back. "Thank you, Carole. You don't know how much that means to me. And, thank you for everything else, too. I-I really appreciate it."

She kissed him softly on his good cheek. "You are so welcome."

After saying their goodbyes they left.

...

"How are you doing?" Kurt asked a bit later as they were pulling onto the interstate.

Blaine nodded. "I'm okay, I think. My face hurts."

"I am so sorry, Blaine." Kurt frowned, glancing over at the dark haired boy.

"S'okay."

After that, Blaine was quiet and stayed that way for most of the ride. The only noise was the sound of the road and some Lady Gaga song from a CD Kurt had popped in. He was lost in his own head. He tired not to, but the every second since they left the house he couldn't think of anything else.

Just friends.

The way his voice sounded was so stern. Like 'Oh, God no. I would never date Blaine. Gross." Like the thought disgusted him. Okay, maybe Blaine was being a bit dramatic. But regardless, it kind of felt worse than when his dad's fist hit his eye. He didn't have a chance. No chance at all. None. Zilch. Zip. Not one. He let out a sigh as his forehead wrinkled. He was disappointed. Even though he had always figured it was out of reach, there was still a small part of him that always thought maybe it could someday happen. But now all of that was completely gone. He felt his heart break a little. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel like crying.

...

They were almost home to Dalton. Blaine still hadn't said anything, he was still swimming in his thoughts.

Kurt kept glancing over at him, and every time he just looked absolutely lost. "Hey, you okay?" He asked, finally, his voice was soft.

Blaine didn't answer for a moment. He really didn't notice Kurt said anything until a moment later, then he jumped out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, um, yea-yeah. I'm fine." He lied.

The sad frown that Blaine was sporting didn't convince Kurt one bit. But he digressed, sighing. "Well, you know, you can talk to me about anything, Blaine. You are my best friend, you know."

Blaine half smiled, nodding a bit. "Yeah, yeah I know." He was all too aware of them being just friends. He let out a small sigh as Kurt took the exit for Dalton.

Just friends.